Author Archives: joel

Nothing much to say here - just a cute photo of Carter that Lori snapped sometime last week. Those are Sean's slippers, but his feet have grown too big for them - which is a fact that makes him very unhappy. He'll struggle a long time trying to get those things on before he gives up. So to see Carter just slip them on no problem seems to be a bit of a thorn in his side.

Sean and I went on our very first camping trip last weekend. It started out a little less than promising (it rained all morning while we were getting ready, and was still raining when we left), so I was surprised by how well everything went.
		On the way to the campground, Sean was playing a game in the back seat where he would cover himself with beach towels, and they he would want me to pretend that I had forgotten him at home. After a few rounds of this game, he actually fell asleep under those towels, and slept until we got there.
		When we first arrived at the campground, it was still pouring. So we put on our raincoats and got our tent up as fast as we could, but we still ended up getting soaked. At that point I just said to myself "the hell with it!", and told Sean to go nuts. He looked confused for a minute, and then he decided to go for it before I could change my mind. He jumped in every muddy puddle he could find, and enjoyed himself tremendously. He was going around showing everyone that he had "the dirtiest socks in the universe!" He was quite proud of them.
The next morning we played on the playground until it warmed up enough to go swimming. Just recently, Sean has finally learned how to swing by himself, so that he only needs a push to get started and can then keep himself going by himself.
		We made s'mores that night - I think this was Sean's first time eating one, even though he's been talking about them for months. All told, He ate three s'mores and I was nervous that he was never going to sleep. But once it got dark, he actually asked to go to bed, in fact.
		When I woke up in the morning, I looked over at Sean, and this is what I saw. Teddy bear on his head, and mouth wide open. So cute. Moments later, he woke up and rubbed his eyes. He climbed on top of me and gave me an enormous hug, then said "I love camping with you, Daddy."
It made me so happy - I love those moments when he and I really connect. Of course, once we got home it was right back to fighting with his sister and getting in trouble, but it was somehow easier to deal with after the wonderful weekend we had shared together. I hope we get a chance to go again real soon.

I was playing with the kids last night, and tried something I had never shown them before - that trick where you pretend to separate your thumb into two pieces. It totally freaked their beans. They couldn't figure out how I was doing it, and Sean kept trying to pull his own thumb off until I told him that only grown-ups could do it. He then proceeded to try and pull MY thumb off. It was a ton of fun. Now I've got to try and remember all of the other kid-fooling tricks I used to know.

I took Sean camping for the first time this past weekend. There were a couple of rough moments, but I think it's safe to say that he loved it. Each morning he woke up in the tent, gave me a huge hug, and said, "I love camping with you, daddy!" We played at the playground, went swimming, made s'mores, jumped in puddles - it was just a great time all around. I've got some pictures, and I'll get them posted over the next couple of days.

Just for those who didn't know, Carter is basically done with daytime diapers! Hooray! We've been working on training her for the past few weeks or so, and it's been hit or miss - she was having a fair number of accidents. But this week we took the plunge and decided it was underwear all day, no matter what - and she's been doing great! She's even started to wake up dry some mornings, so even nighttime diapers may not be around for long. She loves talking about how she is a big girl now, because she can use the potty. She is so proud of herself. Of course, her potty humor has cranked up a notch now, too. But that's the price we pay. :)

After canoeing, we decided to stay at the beach and do a little swimming. Nobody was in a bathing suit though, as we had originally planned to just head straight home. I was helping Sean do cannonballs by grabbing his waist and launching him into the air. That kid is really taking to the water. He can already swim under water for short distances (3-4 feet), and he keeps his eyes open. Carter did great too - she came out much deeper than she normally would. I think having Daddy in the water with her made her especially brave.

We took the new canoe out this weekend, not knowing what to expect from the kids. Much to our surprise, they were great! We all had a good time. We've really only got one picture from the canoe itself, but we'll try to take more next time.

Lori got some great pictures last week while the kids were playing in the pool. She was able to catch them in the air as they were jumping off the slide. The light must have been just right coming off of the water in the pool - normally every time she attempts a shot like this they just come out blurry.

First, some context. Sean's teacher is named Miss Nicole. She's in her early 20's, and quite attractive. Lori claims that she is "my type". So that said, here's the story:

I was home from work yesterday, and I picked Sean up at school after his lunch. On the way home in the van, Sean says to me, "Are you Miss Nicole's daddy?" So I immediately respond, in my euphemism voice, "why...did she say so?" And Sean says, "Yes, Miss Nicole said that you were her daddy!" Needless to say, this tickled my funny bone. When I told Lori the story later, she was howling with laughter. I'm guessing Miss Nicole must have talking to Sean about how I was HIS daddy, and he somehow got the pronouns mixed up. :)